Sacrifice
by NiceSlytherin
Summary: A short story with a little bit of everything


**This is a little thing I wrote a long time ago and just decided to put up. I was thinking of submitting it to my school's literary magazine but they rarely (although it has happened before!) accept fanfictions and plus there might be a little too much kissing and torture...**

**Disclaimers: I do not own Harry Potter, the people he meets, the world he lives in, or the books based off him. This was made solely for fun. I will not continue this fanfiction, it is just a short story.**

**Lastly, I really appreciate reviews, so if you loved it, let me know, and if you hated it, let me know WHY. Enjoy!**

**-NiceSlytherin**

_I walk him to the gates of the building. We stop right before he must enter, both of us fearing the task ahead. Easton squeezes my hand, swallowing hard with worry._

"_Be careful."_

"_Don't worry about me, okay? We'll be- we'll be fine," I choke on the latter part because I know it is a lie._

_He turns to go, then twitches. Suddenly he throws his arms around me, and I can feel him shaking. Is he sobbing? If we survive this, I could totally use his unmanliness for blackmail. But then I am crying too, like I had when I fell asleep last night, eyes red and bloodshot. He holds me out in front of him, and wipes a tear from my face with a rough finger. "You said it yourself. We'll be fine. Now let's get this over with."_

_He gives me a final kiss and disappears through the tall gate, closing the door behind him with a thump. I am on my own now._

Was that really just this morning? It seems like an eternity has passed since we bade goodbye. An eternity of scaling an abandoned mansion's walls, jumping down from them and twisting my ankle, and hobbling from bush to bush, spylike. Had I kept my legs intact, I might have been able to simply run to the open window, merely curtained by thousands of cobwebs, but now I could barely move, and could only pray to the gods I wouldn't be seen.

I make the final stretch towards my entrance to the crumbling building, mind racing, pondering how to hop over the window sill ahead. Stupidly, I do a sort of forward roll onto the dusty floor, and stifle a shriek as glass shards dig into my back. Leaning on the moldy table next to the window, I heave myself onto my feet and look around. We had predicted correctly: this parlour is uninhabited, yet I know somewhere in the mansion lies a small, black stone. A stone marked with a line, a circle, and a triangle etched into the flat surface. A stone with the power to bring back the deceased. We were looking for the Resurrection Stone.

One day, years ago, a student from some wizarding school in Britain had been wandering around during a Care of Magical Creatures class. It was a sort of field trip to the forest nearby, and the teacher had ordered them to stay close, as there were monsters around. But he hadn't listened, no, he had seen a something on the ground several yards away, glinting in a beam of sunlight that had snuck through the thick tree branches. Curious, he had picked it up and noticed the strange symbol on it, then slipped it into his pocket, unaware that his class was now far ahead. He ended up lost in the forest for hours, until the teacher had come back and found him. He'd shown the stone to him proudly, but instead of praise the teacher had snatched it from his hand, panicked. Since then, the Resurrection Stone has been kept in a vault deep inside Gringotts, prohibited from use, the Ministry so afraid of its abilities. But somehow it had been stolen, and of course it was my job to rescue it. Easton was already on a mission, undercover, and I was the only young able Auror left for the job.

And here I am, unable and feeling forty years older than my age. With a sigh, I find a broom tucked in the corner and use it as a cane as I explore the mansion.

I get to the next room. Suddenly, a man's voice calls out, and I duck under a piano. I can hear footsteps walking in, and he bellows, "Intruder, show yourself." I stay hidden, squinting as if it will make me less noticeable, and hold my breath as he walks makes to leave the room. I exhale slowly in relief, but all of a sudden a red light speeds toward me. I fall back against the side of the piano, unconsious.

When I awake I am no longer under the piano. A stern face floats above me, and as I regain focus I notice the badge on his jacket, like the one Easton must wear for work. I check my pockets to learn I have been disarmed. "Where…?" I croak. The room we're in reminds me of one in a warehouse: light gray concrete and flickering, cheap lights above our heads.

"She's awake," he mutters, and when he shifts over I realize we're not alone. Standing behind him is a tall, dark-haired man (his sideburns are so badly shaped that in different circumstances I would have burst out laughing), and next to him is Easton. He's trying to conceal his panic but it isn't working. Luckily no one else notices- all eyes are on me as I struggle out of the man's grip on my shoulders, and manage to prop myself on my elbows.

The sideburned man, who seems to be the leader, speaks in a cold yet hypnotizing voice. "What were you doing at an old, uninhabited private property?"

I try to make myself sound brave. "Rescuing the Resurrection Stone. Who are you?"

"That does not matter. Who are you? Who are you working for?"

"The Auror Department, Ministry of Magic. And I hereby-"

"The Ministry," he growls, ignoring my official talk. "How much do you know?"

I abandon my strategy of acting rebellious. "Just that- just that it had gone missing and-"

"Liar!" he interrupts once again. "Let's see… what will make her speak?"

"May I suggest the Cruciatus curse?" says the man still holding me from lunging at everyone but Easton. I wriggle harder, alarmed at the thought of torture. This mission has suddenly become a lot more complicated.

The leader smiles sinisterly. "Yes, I was just about to propose that. Great minds think alike, eh?" The other man beams. "Mr. Clark, you may carry out the procedure." Easton winces discreetly. I restrain myself from whimpering and nod. _Just do it._ He raises his wand shakily, but manages to keep his face mostly calm.

"Crucio!" he yells. My vision turns red and I scream as I experience torture like nothing before. I barely notice the man releasing me as I roll on the floor, burning pain in every limb. Hardly heard above my own screams, the leader says something to Easton. He lowers his wand and the torment stops. I twitch a few more times involuntarily, and start to recover my sight, though bright white lights constantly pepper the edges of my eyes.

Easton won't look at me. The leader says, "Tell us. What do you know?" I shake my head and he orders, "Clark, again!" I grimace, preparing for more torture. But it doesn't come.

"Sir," Easton is saying, "It's not going anywhere. Let's stop for now. We can keep her here until she is ready to tell us."

He thinks for a moment. _Please, please_, I pray.

"All right then. You may escort her." Easton swiftly walks over and lifts me from my supine position on the floor. He supports me as we leave the room and walk down a dark hallway. It takes us about three times as long as it could have, thanks to both my ankle and the shock of the cruciatus curse. Finally we reach a series of doors at the end. We turn into the first one. It looks like a jail cell, with a cot and a sink. He sits me down on the cot, and closes the door.

"Are you okay? What-"

"I'm fine," I mumble. "Honestly. I- I just got caught. Where are we?"

"Headquarters," he says as if that explains everything. I sigh. "Look, I'm sorry. I can't tell you anything- I don't want you to be tortured more than you need to." He sighs. "Look, I'll see if I can get some food. For now… just, hold tight. I'll get you out of here." He kisses me softly on the cheek and leaves the room silently.

**Post-script: blackriddle711 pointed out to me that the Resurrection Stone in fact was destroyed when it was trampled over by centaurs, but just to give you context, although this story is finished and I will not write this, finding the stone was actually just a set up for our protagonists (and I also just needed to give them a mission). Thanks so much for reading!**


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